In Rome itself the word forum denoted the flat and formerly marshy space between the Palatine and Capitoline hills (also called forum Romanum), which even during the regal period accommodated such public meetings as could not be held within the area Capitolina. In early times the forum Romanum was used for gladiatorial games, and over the colonnades were galleries for spectators; there were also shops of various kinds. Under the Roman Empire, when the forum became primarily a centre for religious and secular spectacles and ceremonies, it was the site of many of the city’s  most imposing temples and monuments. Among the structures surviving in whole or in part are the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the Temple of the Deified Caesar, the Mamertine Prison, the Curia (Senate house), the Temple of Saturn, the Temple of Vesta, the Temple of Romulus, the Arch of Titus, the Arch of Septimius Severus, and the Cloaca Maxima.

Also during the imperial period a considerable number of new forums, the fora civilia (judicial) and venalia (mercantile), came into existence. In addition to the forum Romanum, the forums of Caesar and Augustus belonged to the former class, the forum boarium (cattle), holitorium (vegetable), etc., to the latter.

The 1st-century-BC architect Vitruvius stated that the ideal forum should be large enough to accommodate a large crowd but not so large as to dwarf a small one. He proposed a 3:2 length-to-breadth ratio. It is to this proportion that Trajan’s Forum in Rome was erected early in the 2nd century AD. Commissioned by the emperor Trajan and designed by Apollodorus of Damascus, it measures approximately 920 by 620 feet (about 280 by 190 m) and covers about 25 acres (10 ha). Persons entered through a triple gateway into a colonnaded open space lined with merchants’ booths. The forum is flanked by two semicircular, colonnaded exedrae. Opposite the gateway is the Basilica Ulpia, beyond which is Trajan’s Column, carved with relief sculpture depicting Trajan’s victories. The aesthetic harmony of this space has influenced many subsequent town  planners.

The forum was generally paved, and, although on festal occasions chariots were driven through, it was not a thoroughfare and was enclosed by gates at the entrances, of which traces have been found at Pompeii.

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Preparing for West Coast Rain and Flood Damage | First Onsite

Nearly one million people have been forced to flee their homes after floods devastated towns across western and central Africa, humanitarian agencies said.CreditCredit...Musa Ajit Borno/Associated Press
By Ruth Maclean and Ismail Alfa
Reporting from Dakar, Senegal, and Maiduguri, Nigeria
Sept. 15, 2024
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Aishatu Bunu, an elementary schoolteacher in Maiduguri, a city in Nigeria’s northeast, woke up at 5 a.m. to the sound of her neighbors shouting.

When she opened her front door, she was greeted by the sight of rising waters outside. “We saw — water is coming,” Ms. Bunu said.

In a panic, she and her three young children grabbed some clothes and her educational certificates and fled their home into waters that quickly became chest high, eventually finding temporary shelter at a gas station.

Ms. Bunu was speaking on Friday from the bed of a truck that she managed to board with her children after several days of sheltering at various sites across the flood-stricken city. The floodwaters inundated Maiduguri early last week after heavy rainfall caused a nearby dam to overflow.
Flooding caused by the rain has devastated cities and towns across west and central Africa in recent days, leaving more than 1,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands of homes destroyed. Up to four million people have been affected by the floods and nearly one million forced to flee their homes, according to humanitarian agencies.

The exact number of deaths has been difficult to tally given the scale of the disaster, and the officially reported figures are not up-to-date. In Nigeria, the authorities said that at least 200 people had died, but that was before the floods hit Maiduguri, which has added at least 30 people to that toll. In Niger, more than 265 have been reported dead. In Chad, 487 people had lost their lives as of last week. In Mali, which is facing its worst floods since the 1960s, 55 died.

Rain is pouring hard and fast—more than eight inches in just an hour, turning river water brown with mud. Earthworms wiggle up to the ground as the soil becomes too wet for them. A flood might be coming.

A vehicle is left abandoned in floodwater on a highway after Hurricane Beryl swept through the area on July 8, 2024, in Houston, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster in the U.S., and thanks to climate change, rising sea levels, wildfires, and changing precipitation patterns are increasing the number and intensity of extreme weather events with torrential rainfall. Already this year, there have been 39 flood-related deaths. Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are predicting “above-normal” hurricane activity this season, adding to the flooding risk.


Floodwater carries risks of injury, illness, and even death.

Published July 30, 2024
By Morgan Coulson
ENVIRONMENT INFECTIOUS DISEASES INJURY PREVENTION

A rainwater harvesting and irrigation project based on the construction of climate-resilient farm ponds was inaugurated at Kukas in Jaipur district on Monday (June 30, 2025) after the creation of annual water conservation capacity of 15 crore litres. The 75 scientifically designed farm ponds will support year-round irrigation for 300 acres of farmland.